1977
Year 1977 (MCMLXXVII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. It was also the 1977th year of the Common Era, the 977th year of the 2nd millennium, the 77th year of the 20th century, and the 8th year of the 1970s. Events January * January – The world's first personal all-in-one computer (keyboard/screen/tape storage), the Commodore PET, is demonstrated at the Consumer Electronics Show in Chicago * January 1 – The Australian state of Queensland abolishes inheritance tax. * January 3 – Apple Computer Inc. is incorporated. * January 6 – Record company EMI sacks the controversial United Kingdom punk rock group the Sex Pistols.http://www.guardian.co.uk/theguardian/2011/jan/07/sex-pistols-emi-end-contract-1977 * January 10 ** Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo). ** Ocean Park opens in Hong Kong. : Ocean Park, Hong Kong]] * January 15 – Kälvesta air disaster: A Swedish airliner crashes into a residential area of Stockholm, killing all 22 on board. * January 17 – Gary Gilmore is executed by firing squad in Utah (the first execution after the reintroduction of the death penalty in the U.S.). * January 18 ** Scientists identify a previously unknown bacterium as the cause of the mysterious Legionnaires' disease. ** Australia's worst railway disaster at Granville, near Sydney, leaves 83 people dead. ** SFR Yugoslavia Prime minister, Džemal Bijedić, his wife and 6 others are killed in a plane crash in Bosnia and Herzegovina. * January 19 ** U.S. President Gerald Ford pardons Iva Toguri D'Aquino (aka "Tokyo Rose"). ** Snow falls in Miami, Florida (despite its ordinarily tropical climate) for the only time in its history. Snowfall has occurred farther south in the United States only on the high mountains of the state of Hawaii. * January 20 – Jimmy Carter succeeds Gerald Ford as the 39th President of the United States. : Jimmy Carter 39th U.S. President.]] * January 21 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter pardons Vietnam War draft evaders. * January 23 – Roots begins its phenomenally successful run on ABC. * January 24 – The Massacre of Atocha occurs during the Spanish transition to democracy. * January 26 – Katimavik is founded as a volunteer service organization for Canadian youths. * January 28 – The Great Lakes Blizzard of 1977 hits Buffalo, New York; and the Niagara Region of Southern Ontario. * January 31 – The Centre Georges Pompidou is officially opened by French President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing. February * February 4 – Fleetwood Mac's Grammy-winning album Rumours is released. * February 7 – The Soviet Union launches Soyuz 24 (Viktor Gorbatko, Yuri Glazkov) to dock with the Salyut 5 space station. * February 15 – Space Shuttle program: First test taxi flight of Space Shuttle Enterprise. * February 18 – Prog 1 of 2000 AD, is launched (issue dated 26 February 1977). * February 23 – Oscar Romero becomes Archbishop of San Salvador. * February 28 – Elizabeth II opens the Parliament of New Zealand. March * March 4 – The 1977 Bucharest Earthquake kills 1,500. * March 5 – Formula One driver Tom Pryce dies after colliding with a track marshal at the South African Grand Prix in Kyalami. * March 8 – The Australian parliament is opened by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia. * March 9 – Hanafi Siege: Approximately a dozen armed Hanafi Movement members take over 3 buildings in Washington, D.C., killing 1 person and taking more than 130 hostages. The hostage situation ends 2 days later. * March 10 – The rings of Uranus are discovered. * March 12 – The Centenary Test between Australia and England begins at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. * March 15 – Tenor Luciano Pavarotti and the PBS opera series Live from the Met both make their American television debuts. Pavarotti stars in a complete production of Puccini's La Boheme. * March 26 – Focus on the Family is founded by Dr. James Dobson. * March 27 – Tenerife disaster: A collision between KLM and Pan Am Boeing 747s at Tenerife, Canary Islands, kills 583 persons (the deadliest accident in aviation history). April * April 1 – The small market town of Hay-on-Wye declares independence from the UK, as a publicity stunt. * April 2 – Horse Racing – Red Rum wins a record third Grand National at Aintree racecourse. * April 4 – Grundy, Virginia experienced a major flood that made around $15 million in damages to 228 residential and commercial structures. To date the town is still recovering. * April 7 ** German Federal Prosecutor Siegfried Buback and his driver are shot by 2 Red Army Faction members while waiting at a red light near his home in Karlsruhe. The "Ulrike Meinhof Commando" later claims responsibility. ** The Toronto Blue Jays play their first game of baseball against the Chicago White Sox. ** The Seattle Mariners play their first-ever game of baseball against the California Angels. : UK Silver Jubilee (25 red buses painted silver).]] * April 8 – The punk band The Clash's debut album The Clash is released in the UK on CBS Records. * April 11 – London Transport's Silver Jubilee buses are launched. * April 21 – Residents of Dover, Massachusetts report sightings of an eerie monster. * April 22 – Optical fiber is first used to carry live telephone traffic. * April 27 – The Guatemala City air disaster kills 28 people. * April 28 – A federal court in Stuttgart sentences Red Army Faction members Andreas Baader, Gudrun Ensslin, and Jan-Carl Raspe to life imprisonment. * April 30 – Led Zeppelin sets a new world record attendance for an indoor attraction at the Pontiac Silverdome when 76,229 persons attend a concert here on the group's 1977 North American Tour. May * May 1 – The Taksim Square massacre in Istanbul results in 34 deaths, hundreds of injuries. * May 3 – The light aircraft carrier HMS Invincible is launched at Barrow-in-Furness by Elizabeth II. * May 14 ** The 1977 IAS Cargo Boeing 707 airplane crash in Lusaka, Zambia kills all six on board. ** In Milan, Italy, during a far-left demonstration, a hooded person shoots at the police, killing a policeman, Antonio Custra. The scene was photographed and the pictureIm135.imageavenue.com of the hooded man shooting in the middle of the street appears in many magazines around the world. * May 17 ** The Likud Party, led by Menachem Begin, wins the national elections in Israel. ** Elizabeth II commences her 1977 Silver Jubilee tour in Glasgow, Scotland. * May 23 ** Scientists report using bacteria in a lab to make insulin via gene splicing. ** Moluccan terrorists take over a school in Bovensmilde, northern Netherlands (105 hostages), and a passenger train on the Bovensmilde-Assen route nearby (90 hostages) at the same time. On June 11, Dutch Royal Marines storm the train, and six terrorists and two hostages are killed. * May 25 – Star Wars opens in cinemas and later becomes the historic highest grossing film for that time. * May 26 – George Willig climbs the South Tower of the World Trade Center. * May 27 ** Elizabeth II opens the new Air Terminal Building at the Edinburgh Airport. ** The 1977 Aeroflot Ilyushin 62 airplane crash in Cuba kills 69 people. * May 28 – The Beverly Hills Supper Club in Southgate, Kentucky, is engulfed in fire, killing 165 inside. * May 29 – Indianapolis 500: A. J. Foyt becomes the first driver to win the race four times. June * June 5 ** A bloodless coup installs France Albert Rene as President of the Seychelles. ** The first Apple II series computers go on sale. ** The Portland Trail Blazers defeat the Philadelphia 76ers 109–107 to win the National Basketball Association finals four games to two. Bill Walton is selected as the MVP of the series. * June 6 – 9 – Jubilee celebrations are held in the United Kingdom to celebrate 25 years of Elizabeth II's reign. * June 7 – After campaigning by Anita Bryant and her anti-gay "Save Our Children" crusade, Miami-Dade County, Florida voters overwhelmingly vote to repeal the county's "gay rights" ordinance. * June 10 – James Earl Ray escapes from the Brushy Mountain State Prison in Petros, Tennessee, but he will be recaptured on June 13. * June 12 – The Supremes perform its final concert together at Drury Lane in London, England and then disbands permanently. * June 15 – Spain has its first democratic elections, after 41 years under the Franco regime. * June 16 – The Oracle Corporation is incorporated in Redwood Shores, California as Software Development Laboratories (SDL) by Larry Ellison, Bob Miner, and Ed Oates. * June 20 ** The U.S. Supreme Court rules that the states are not required to spend Medicaid funds on elective abortions. ** Anglia Television broadcasts the fake documentary Alternative 3, which enters into the conspiracy theory canon. * June 21 – Bülent Ecevit, of CHP forms the new government of Turkey (40th government since the founding of the Turkish republic, but fails to receive the vote of confidence) * June 25 **The 1977 Rugby League World Cup culminates in Australia's 13 – 12 victory over Great Britain at the Sydney Cricket Ground before about 24,450 spectators. **American Roy Sullivan is struck by lightning for the seventh time. * June 26 ** Elvis Presley holds his last concert at Market Square Arena in Indianapolis. ** Some 200,000 protesters march through the streets of San Francisco, protesting Anita Bryant's antigay remarks and the murder of Robert Hillsborough. ** 16-year-old shop assistant Jayne Macdonald is murdered by the Yorkshire Ripper in Leeds, England. * June 30 ** The Southeast Asia Treaty Organization is permanently disbanded. ** The Women Marines are disbanded, and the women are integrated into regular Marine Corps. July * July 1 ** CKO (a now-defunct Canadian all news radio network) begins broadcasting. ** EAC dissolved. * July 5 – General Mohammed Zia ul-Haq overthrows Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, the first elected Prime Minister of Pakistan. * July 13 – Somalia declares war on Ethiopia, starting the Ethiopian-Somali War. * July 13 – The New York City blackout of 1977 lasts for 25 hours, resulting in looting and other disorder. * July 15 – Anti-drug campaigner Donald Mackay disappears near Griffith, New South Wales (presumed murdered). * July 19–July 20 – Flooding in Johnstown, PA, caused by massive rainfall, kills over 75 people and causes billions in damage. * July 21 – Süleyman Demirel, of AP forms the new government of Turkey (41st government a three party coalition, so called second national front ( )) * July 22 – The purged Chinese Communist leader Deng Xiaoping is restored to power 9 months after the "Gang of Four" was expelled from power in a coup d'état. * July 24 – Led Zeppelin presents its last American concert in Oakland, California, at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. A brawl erupts between Led Zeppelin's crew and the staff of the promoter Bill Graham, resulting in criminal assault charges for several members of the Led Zeppelin group including the drummer John Bonham. * July 28 – The first oil through the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System reaches Valdez, Alaska. * July 30 – Left-wing German terrorists Susanne Albrecht,Baader-Meinhof.com Brigitte Mohnhaupt and a third person assassinate Jürgen Ponto,Dresdner-Bank.com chairman of the Dresdner Bank in Oberursel, West Germany. August : Elvis Presley dies. His funeral in Memphis attracts 75,000 fans.]] * August 3 ** United States Senate hearings on MKULTRA are held. ** The Tandy Corporation TRS-80 Model I computer is announced at a press conference. * August 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter signs legislation creating the United States Department of Energy. * August 7 – The Japanese Usu volcano erupts. * August 9 – The military-controlled government of Uruguay announces that it will return the nation to civilian rule through general elections in 1981 for a President and Congress. * August 10 – David Berkowitz is captured in Yonkers, New York, after over a year of murders in New York City as the Son Of Sam. * August 12 – The NASA Space Shuttle, named Enterprise, makes its first test free-flight from the back of a Boeing 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA). * August 15 ** The Big Ear, a radio telescope operated by Ohio State University as part of the SETI project, receives a radio signal from deep space; the event is named the "WOW!" signal for a notation made by a volunteer on the project. ** Herbert Kappler escapes from the Caelian Hill military hospital in Rome. * August 16 – Elvis Presley, the king of rock and roll dies in his home in Graceland at age 42. 75,000 fans lined the streets of Memphis for this funeral.Elvis Presley (1935–1977): Funeral in Memphis * August 19 – Groucho Marx, Comedic legend, star of stage and screen dies of pneumonia at Cedars Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California the age of 86 (1890–1977). * August 20 – Voyager program: The United States launches the Voyager 2 spacecraft. September * September 3 – The Commodore PET computer is first sold. * September 4 – The Golden Dragon Massacre took place in San Francisco, California. * September 5 ** Voyager program: Voyager 1 is launched after a brief delay. ** German Autumn: Employers Association President Hanns-Martin Schleyer is kidnapped in Cologne, West Germany. The kidnappers kill 3 escorting police officers and his chauffeur. They demand the release of Red Army Faction (RAF) prisoners. * September 7 – Treaties between Panama and the United States on the status of the Panama Canal are signed. The U.S. agrees to transfer control of the canal to Panama at the end of the 20th century. * September 8 – INTERPOL issues a resolution against the piracy of video tapes and other material, which is still cited in warnings on opening pre-credits of videocassettes and DVDs today. * September 10 – Hamida Djandoubi's is the last guillotine execution in France. * September 12 – South African activist Steve Biko dies after suffering a massive head injury in police custody in Pretoria, South Africa. * September 16 – Glam rock pioneer Marc Bolan dies in a car crash in Barnes, London. * September 18 – Courageous (U.S.), skippered by Ted Turner, sweeps Australia (Australia) in the 24th America's Cup. * September 19 – Under pressure from the Carter Administration, President Anastasio Somoza Debayle lifts the state of siege in Nicaragua. * September 20 – Petrozavodsk phenomenon was observed in the Soviet Union and some northern European countries. * September 21 – A nuclear non-proliferation pact is signed by 15 countries, including the United States and the Soviet Union. * September 28 – The Porsche 928 debuts at the Geneva Auto Convention. * September 29 – The modern Food Stamp Program begins when the Food Stamp Act of 1977 is enacted. October * October 1 ** Energy Research and Development Administration part of Department of Energy. ** Pelé plays his final professional football game as a member of the New York Cosmos. * October 13 – German Autumn: Four Palestinians hijack a Lufthansa Airlines flight to Somalia and demand the release of 11 Red Army Faction members (see Lufthansa Flight 181). * October 14 ** The Atari 2600 game system is released. ** Anita Bryant is famously pied by four gay rights activists during a press conference in Des Moines, Iowa. This event resulted in her political fallout from anti-gay activism. * October 17 – 18 – German Autumn: GSG 9 troopers storm a hijacked Lufthansa passenger plane in Mogadishu, Somalia; 3 of the 4 hijackers die. * October 18 ** German Autumn: Red Army Faction members Andreas Baader, Jan-Carl Raspe and Gudrun Ensslin commit suicide in Stammheim prison; Irmgard Möller fails (their supporters still claim they were murdered). They are buried on October 27. ** Elizabeth II, Queen of Canada, opens the 3rd session of the 30th Canadian Parliament. ** Reggie Jackson blasts 3 home runs to lead the New York Yankees to a World Series victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers. : Last natural smallpox case (in Somalia).]] * October 19 – German Autumn: Kidnapped industrialist Hanns-Martin Schleyer is found murdered in Mulhouse, France. * October 20 – Three members of the rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd die in a charter plane crash outside Gillsburg, Mississippi, 3 days after the release of their fifth studio album Street Survivors. * October 21 – The European Patent Institute is founded. * October 25 – Seychelles recognizes the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR). * October 26 **The last natural smallpox case is discovered in Merca district, Somalia. The WHO and the CDC consider this date the anniversary of the eradication of smallpox, the most spectacular success of vaccination and, by extension, of modern science. ** Space Shuttle program: Last test taxi flight of Space Shuttle Enterprise. * October 28 ** Hong Kong police forces attack the ICAC headquarters. ** Never Mind The Bollocks Here's The Sex Pistols is released in the United Kingdom. November * November 1 – 2060 Chiron, first of the outer solar system asteroids known as Centaurs, is discovered by Charlie Kowal. : Sadat meets Menachem Begin in Israel.]] : TCP/IP links 3 of 111 ARPANET nodes.]] * November 2 – The worst storm in Athens' modern history causes havoc across the Greek capital and kills 38 people. * November 6 – The Kelly Barnes Dam, located above Toccoa Falls Bible College near Toccoa, Georgia fails, killing 39. * November 8 ** Greek archaeologist Manolis Andronikos discovers the tomb of Philip II of Macedon at Vergina. ** San Francisco elects City Supervisor Harvey Milk, the first openly gay elected official of any large city in the U.S. * November 9 – Gen. Hugo Banzer, president of the military government of Bolivia, announces that the constitutional democracy will be restored in 1978 instead of 1980 as previously provided. * November 10 – The Bee Gees release the soundtrack to Saturday Night Fever, which will go on to become the then best selling album of all time. * November 19 ** Egyptian President Anwar Sadat becomes the first Arab leader to make an official visit to Israel, when he meets with Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin, seeking a permanent peace settlement. ** TAP Portugal Flight 425 crashes at Madeira Airport, Funchal, Portugal, killing 131 and leaving 33 survivors. * November 22 ** British Airways inaugurates regular London to New York City supersonic Concorde service. ** TCP/IP test succeeds connecting 3 ARPANET nodes (of 111), in what eventually becomes the Internet protocol."TCP/IP", LivingInternet, 2008, webpage: LivingI-tcpip. * November 27 – The Rankin/Bass made-for-TV animated film The Hobbit premieres on NBC in the United States. * November 30 – International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) founded as specialized agency of the United Nations. December * December – Colombo Plan for Co-operative Economic and Social Development in Asia and the Pacific (CESDAP) * December 1 ** The Lockheed's top-secret stealth aircraft project, designated Have Blue, precursor to the U.S. F-117A Nighthawk, makes its first flight. ** The Nickelodeon Television Channel, a children's cartoon channel, launches as The Pinwheel Network. * December 4 ** Jean-Bédel Bokassa, president of the Central African Republic, crowns himself Emperor. ** Malaysia Airlines Flight 653 is hijacked and crashes in Tanjung Kupang, Johor, Malaysia, killing all 100 passengers and crew on board. * December 11 – The Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the NFL win their very first game against the New Orleans Saints. They had lost their first 26 games before the win. * December 13 – A DC-3 charter plane carrying the University of Evansville basketball team to Nashville, Tenn., crashes in rain and dense fog about 90 seconds after takeoff from Evansville Dress Regional Airport. Twenty-nine people die in the crash, including 14 members of the team and head coach Bob Watson. * December 16 – Mikhail Baryshnikov's 1976 production of Tchaikovsky's beloved ballet The Nutcracker comes to CBS a year after premiering onstage at the Kennedy Center. This adaptation will become the most popular television production of the work. * December 18 – Flight SATA 730, an international charter service from Zurich to Funchal Airport (Madeira), touches the sea in a landing attempt. Many of the 36 fatalities got trapped inside the sinking plane. 21 people survived with the help of rescue teams and by swimming to the shore. Date unknown flies atop Boeing 747 over U.S.]] * Portugal's traditional naming conventions change such that children's surnames can come from either the mother or the father, not just from the father. * Chiara Lubich is awarded the Templeton Prize. * The Soviet National Anthem's lyrics are returned after a 24 year period, with Joseph Stalin's name omitted. * Mormon sex in chains case with the alleged abduction in England of a young Mormon missionary. * WAVES disbanded; women integrated into regular Navy. Births January ]] ]] * January 2 ** Gavin Mahon, English footballer ** Aleš Píša, Czech ice hockey player * January 3 ** Mayumi Iizuka, Japanese voice actress (seiyū) ** A. J. Burnett, American baseball player ** Jim Shearer, American VJ (MTV2 & VH1) and television personality * January 4 – Tim Wheeler, Irish Musician * January 7 ** John Gidding, American actor and architect ** Dustin Diamond, American actor * January 8 – Amber Benson, American actress * January 11 – Anni Friesinger, German speed skater * January 12 – Piolo Pascual, Filipino actor * January 13 – Orlando Bloom, British actor * January 14 – Ruco Chan, Hong Kong actor * January 17 – Leigh Whannell, Australian actor and writer * January 20 – Melody, Belgian singer * January 21 – Jerry Trainor, American actor * January 22 – Hidetoshi Nakata, Japanese footballer * January 23 – Kamal Heer, Punjabi Singer and Musician * January 24 – Johann Urb, American Actor * January 25 ** Hatem Trabelsi, Tunisian footballer ** The-Dream, American singer ** Christian Ingebrigtsen, Norwegian singer (A1) * January 26 – Vince Carter, American basketball player * January 27 – Jermaine Jackson, Jr., American actor * January 28 ** Lyle Overbay, American baseball player ** Daunte Culpepper, American football player ** Joey Fatone, American musician ('N Sync) * January 31 – Mark Dutiaume, Canadian hockey player February ]] ]] * February 2 ** Shakira, Colombian musician ** Jessica Wahls, German pop singer * February 4 ** Gavin Degraw, Singer/Songwriter * February 5 ** Adam Everett, American baseball player ** Ahmad Merritt, American football player ** Ben Ainslie, British sailor * February 7 – Paul Comrie, Canadian ice hockey player * February 8 ** Yucef Merhi, Venezuelan artist ** Barry Hall, Australian rules footballer * February 11 ** Randy Moss, American football player ** Mike Shinoda, American rock musician (Linkin Park) * February 16 – Ian Clarke, Irish computer scientist * February 18 – Ike Barinholtz, American actor, comedian and screenwriter * February 19 – Gianluca Zambrotta, Italian footballer * February 20 ** Stephon Marbury, American basketball player ** Amal Hijazi, Lebanese singer and model * February 21 – Kevin Rose, American television host * February 23 – Kristina Šmigun-Vähi, Estonian skier * February 24 ** Floyd Mayweather Jr., boxing champion ** Jason Akermanis, Australian rules footballer * February 27 – Ji Sung, South Korean actor * February 28 – Jason Aldean, American country music singer March ]] ]] * March 1 – Rens Blom, Dutch athlete * March 2 ** Chris Martin, British rock musician (Coldplay) ** Heather McComb, American actress * March 3 – Ronan Keating, Irish singer (Boyzone) * March 4 ** Ana Guevara, Mexican track and field athlete ** Daniel Klewer, German footballer * March 5 – Wally Szczerbiak, Spanish-born basketball player * March 6 ** Francisco Javier Fernandez, Spanish race walker ** Santino Marella, Canadian wrestler * March 7 ** Ronan O'Gara, Irish rugby player ** Mitja Zastrow, German-born swimmer ** Paul Cattermole, English singer (S Club 7) * March 8 – James Van Der Beek, American actor * March 10 ** Peter Enckelman, Finnish footballer ** Shannon Miller, American gymnast ** Rita Simons, English Actor ** Robin Thicke, American-Canadian R&B singer-songwriter, musician, composer, and actor * March 11 ** Becky Hammon, American basketball player ** Jason Greeley, Canadian singer * March 14 – Kim Nam-Il, South Korean footballer * March 15 ** Norifumi Yamamoto, Japanese mixed martial artist ** Adrian Burnside, Australian baseball player * March 18 – Zdeno Chara, Czechoslovakian (now Slovakia) hockey player * March 23 ** Sammy Morris, American football player ** Edwin Siu, Hong Kong actor and singer * March 24 – Darren Lockyer, Australian rugby league player * March 27 ** Vitor Meira, Brazilian race car driver ** Roger Velasco, American actor April ]] ]] ]] ]] * April 1 – Vitor Belfort, Brazilian mixed martial artist * April 4 – Stephen Mulhern, British musician, TV presenter * April 9 – Gerard Way, American rock singer (My Chemical Romance) * April 11 – DJ Fresh, English DJ, drum and bass and dubstep producer * April 12 ** Tobias Angerer, German cross-country skier ** Sarah Monahan, Australian actress ** Sarah Jane Morris, American actress * April 14 ** Sarah Michelle Gellar, American actress ** Chandra Levy, American federal government intern (d. 2001) **Rob McElhenney, American Actor * April 15 – Dejan Milojevic, Serbian basketball player * April 16 – Fredrik Ljungberg, Swedish footballer * April 17 – Frederik Magle, Danish composer * April 21 – Jamie Salé, Canadian figure skater * April 23 ** Mariusz Pudzianowski, Polish strongman ** Andruw Jones, Antillean baseball player ** John Cena, American professional wrestler, actor and singer ** Kal Penn, American actor, producer and civil servant * April 24 ** Carlos Beltrán, Puerto Rican baseball player ** Siarhiej Bałachonaŭ, Belarusian writer * April 26 ** Jason Earles, American actor ** Tom Welling, American actor May ]] * May 3 – Ben Olsen, American footballer * May 4 – Emily Perkins, Canadian actress * May 5 – Choi Kang-hee, South Korean actress * May 8 – Pepe Sánchez, Argentine basketball player * May 9 – Choi Jeong-yoon, South Korean actress * May 10 ** Nick Heidfeld, German race car driver ** Chas Licciardello, Australian comedian (The Chaser) * May 11 ** Victor Matfield, South African rugby player ** Janne Ahonen, Finnish ski jumper * May 12 ** Graeme Dott, Scottish snooker player ** Rebecca Herbst, American actress * May 13 – Samantha Morton, British actress * May 14 ** Roy Halladay, American baseball player ** Ada Nicodemou, Australian actress * May 16 – Melanie Lynskey, New Zealand actress * May 17 – Lisa Kelly, Irish singer * May 19 – Brandon Inge, American baseball player * May 20 – Chad Muska, American skateboarder * May 23 – Ilia Kulik, Russian figure skater * May 24 – Tamarine Tanasugarn, Thai tennis player * May 26 ** Misaki Ito, Japanese actress ** Luca Toni, Italian footballer * May 27 ** Abderrahmane Hammad, Algerian athlete ** Tommie van der Leegte, Dutch soccer player * May 28 – Elisabeth Hasselbeck, American talk show host * May 29 – Massimo Ambrosini, Italian football player * May 31 ** Phil Devey, Canadian baseball player ** Domenico Fioravanti, Italian swimmer ** Greg Leeb, Canadian ice hockey player ** Joachim Olsen, Danish athlete ** Eric Christian Olsen, American actor ** June Sarpong, British television presenter ** Moses Sichone, Zambian footballer ** Petr Tenkrát, Czech ice hockey player June ]] ]] * June 1 ** Danielle Harris, American actress ** Sarah Wayne Callies American actress * June 2 – Zachary Quinto, American actor * June 4 – Jordan Bratman, American celebrity * June 5 – Nourhanne, Lebanese singer * June 7 – Marcin Baszczyński, Polish footballer * June 8 – Kanye West, African-American rapper and record producer * June 9 ** Roopa Mishra, Indian civil servant ** Peja Stojakovic, Serbian basketball player * June 10 – Adam Darski, Polish musician (aka Nergal, Holocausto) * June 11 ** Ryan Dunn, American television personality (d. 2011) ** Geoff Ogilvy, Australian golfer ** Shane Meier, Canadian actor * June 12 – Ana Tijoux, French-Chilean musician * June 14 – Chris McAlister, American football player * June 16 – Kerry Wood, American baseball player * June 19 – Peter Warrick, American football player * June 20 – Aaron Moule, Australian rugby league player * June 21 – Jochen Hecht, German ice hockey player * June 23 ** Antoine Winfield, American football player ** Jason Mraz, American singer/songwriter * June 25 – Naoya Tsukahara, Japanese gymnast * June 26 – William Kipsang, Kenyan long-distance runner * June 27 ** Raúl, Spanish footballer ** Arkadiusz Radomski, Polish footballer * June 28 – Harun Tekin, Turkish rock vocalist and guitarist (Mor ve Ötesi) July ]] ]] ]] * July 1 ** Jarome Iginla, Canadian hockey player ** Liv Tyler, American actress ** Tom Frager, French-born singer and surfer * July 2 – Ricardo Medina, Jr., American actor * July 8 ** Milo Ventimiglia, American actor ** Wang Zhizhi, Chinese basketball player * July 10 – Schapelle Corby, Australian convicted drug smuggler * July 11 – Edward Moss, American impersonator * July 12 ** Peter Schaefer, Canadian ice hockey player ** Brock Lesnar, American professional wrestler * July 14 – Victoria, Crown Princess of Sweden * July 15 – Ray Toro, American rock guitarist (My Chemical Romance) * July 16 – Bryan Budd, British soldier (VC recipient) (d. 2006) * July 18 – Alfian bin Sa'at, Singaporean writer, poet and playwright * July 19 – Jean-Sébastien Aubin, Canadian ice hockey player * July 21 – Paul Casey, English golfer * July 24 – Mehdi Mahdavikia, Iranian football player * July 26 – Rebecca St James, Australian-born Christian musician * July 27 – Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Irish actor * July 28 ** Manu Ginóbili, Argentine basketball player ** Rahman "Rock" Harper, American Personality, Restauranteur * July 30 – Jaime Pressly, American actress * July 31 – Tim Couch, American football player August ]] ]] * August 2 – Edward Furlong, American actor * August 3 ** Angela Beesley Starling, British Internet entrepreneur ** Tom Brady, American football player * August 7 – Twins Samantha Ronson and Charlotte Ronson, British DJ and designer * August 8 – Marilson Gomes dos Santos, Brazilian long-distance runner * August 9 – Chamique Holdsclaw, American basketball player * August 10 – Danny Griffin, Irish footballer * August 12 ** Plaxico Burress, African-American football player ** Park Yong-ha, South Korean actor and singer (d. 2010) * August 13 – Michael Klim, Australian swimmer * August 15 ** Martin Biron, Canadian hockey player ** Igor Cassina, Italian gymnast ** Anthony Rocca, Australian rules footballer * August 16 – Tamer Hosny, Egyptian singer/actor * August 17 ** Thierry Henry, French footballer **Tarja Turunen, Finnish operatic soprano **Claire Richards, English singer (Steps) * August 18 – Lukáš Bauer, Czech cross-country skier * August 20 ** Felipe Contepomi, Argentine rugby player ** Manuel Contepomi, Argentine rugby player ** Henning Stensrud, Norwegian ski jumper * August 23 – Nicole Bobek, American figure skater * August 24 ** Robert Enke, German footballer (d. 2009) ** Per Gade, Danish footballer ** Jürgen Macho, Austrian footballer * August 26 – Morris Peterson, American basketball player * August 27 – Deco, Portuguese footballer * August 30 ** Shaun Alexander, American football player ** Jens Ludwig, German guitarist ** Kamil Kosowski, Polish footballer * August 31 ** Jeff Hardy, American professional wrestler ** Craig Nicholls, Australian rock musician and songwriter September ]] * September 2 ** Frédéric Kanouté, Mali soccer player ** Elitsa Todorova, Bulgarian singer-songwriter * September 4 **Ian Grushka, American bassist (New Found Glory) **Lucie Silvas, English singer * September 6 – Kiyoshi Hikawa, Japanese enka singer * September 11 – Ludacris, African-American rapper * September 13 – Fiona Apple, American singer * September 15 ** Angela Aki, Japanese singer-songwriter ** Tom Hardy, English actor ** Jason Terry, American basketball player * September 18 – Kieran West, British Olympic oarsman * September 19 – Ioana Maria Lupascu, Romanian pianist * September 20 – Namie Amuro, Japanese singer * September 21 – Hank Fraley, American football player * September 22 – Paul Sculthorpe, English rugby league player * September 23 ** Matthieu Descoteaux, Canadian ice hockey player ** Susan Tamim, Lebanese singer, actress, and murder victim (d. 2008) * September 24 – Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila, American football player * September 27 – Andrus Värnik, Estonian javelin thrower * September 28 ** Ivana Bozilovic, Serbian model and actress ** Se Ri Pak, South Korean golfer ** Kristal Tin, Hong Kong actress * September 30 – Roy Carroll, Irish footballer October ]] ]] * October 5 – Hugleikur Dagsson, Icelandic artist * October 6 – Daniel Brière, Canadian ice hockey player * October 7 – Meighan Desmond, New Zealand actress * October 8 – Anne-Caroline Chausson, French mountain bicycle racer * October 9 – Hicham Chami, Moroccan financier and musician * October 11 ** Claudia Palacios, Colombian journalist and newsreader ** Matthew Bomer, American film, stage, and television actor * October 12 – Bode Miller, American skier * October 13 ** Paul Pierce, American basketball player ** Quincy Carter, American Football Player * October 14 ** Adam Pengilly, British skeleton racer ** Bianca Beauchamp, Canadian latex model ** Kelly Schumacher, American basketball and volleyball player * October 15 – David Sergio Trezeguet, French footballer * October 16 – John Mayer, American musician and record producer * October 17 – André Villas-Boas, Portuguese football manager * October 18 ** Ryan Nelsen, New Zealand footballer ** Paul Stalteri, Canadian footballer * October 20 – Stewart Petrie Scottish Actor * October 25 – Birgit Prinz, German footballer * October 26 ** Jon Heder, American actor and screenwriter ** Louis Crayton, Swiss/Liberian footballer * October 27 – Kumar Sangakkara, Sri Lankan cricketer * October 28 – Jonas Rasmussen, Danish badminton player * October 29 – Brendan Fehr, Canadian actor * October 30 – Charmian Faulkner, missing Australian toddler November ]] ]] * November 1 – Alistair Griffin, British singer and songwriter * November 2 – Randy Harrison, American actor * November 3 – Aria Giovanni, American model and actress * November 4 – Larry Bigbie, American baseball player * November 6 ** Patrícia Tavares, Portuguese actress ** Dušan Kecman, Serbian basketball player * November 10 – Brittany Murphy, American actress (d. 2009) * November 13 ** Chanel Cole, New Zealand-born singer ** Huang Xiaoming, Chinese actor and singer * November 15 – Peter Phillips, son of Anne, Princess Royal and Captain Mark Phillips * November 16 ** Oksana Baiul, Ukrainian figure skater ** Maggie Gyllenhaal, American actress * November 17 – Ryk Neethling, South African swimmer * November 18 – Trent Barrett, Australian rugby league player * November 19 – Kerri Strug, American gymnast * November 20 **Daniel Svensson, Swedish drummer **Josh Turner, American country music singer * November 21 – Jonas Jennings, American football player * November 22 – Michael Preston, English footballer * November 26 – Ivan Basso, Italian cyclist * November 27 – Mika Tan, Asian-American adult film actress * November 28 – DeMya Walker, American basketball player * November 30 – Steve Aoki, American electro house DJ and founder of Dim Mak Records December ]] * December 3 ** Adam Małysz, Polish ski jumper ** Troy Evans, American football player * December 6 – Paul McVeigh, Irish footballer * December 7 ** Fernando Vargas, American boxer ** Luke Donald, English golfer * December 8 ** Sébastien Chabal, French rugby union player ** Ryan Newman, American race car driver * December 10 – Emmanuelle Chriqui, Canadian actress * December 11 – Peter Stringer, Irish rugby union player * December 12 ** Dahm triplets, American models ** Adam Saitiev, Chechen wrestler and Olympic gold medalist * December 13 – Ahmed al-Nami, Saudi Arabian hijacker * December 14 ** KaDee Strickland, American actress ** Jamie Peacock, English rugby league player * December 16 ** Kevin Gillespie, American comic book artist ** Anu Nieminen, Finnish badminton player * December 17 – Oxana Fedorova, Miss Universe 2002, of Russia (Dethroned) * December 20 – Sonja Aldén, Swedish pop singer * December 21 – Gregor Horvatic, a Slovenian politician, former president of Slovenian Democratic Youth * December 23 ** Alge Crumpler, American football player ** Matt Baker, British television presenter * December 24 – Domingo Vega, also known as Américo, Chilean singer * December 25 – Uhm Ji-won, South Korean actress * December 27 ** Jacqueline Pillon, Canadian actress ** Sam Talbot, American chef * December 29 ** Laveranues Coles, American football player ** Katherine Moennig, American actress * December 30 ** Laila Ali, African-American boxer ** Jimmy Alapag, Filipino-American professional basketball player ** Scott Lucas, Australian rules footballer ** Kenyon Martin, American basketball player ** Sasa Ilic, Serbian football player * December 31 – Donald Trump, Jr., Executive Vice President of the Trump Organization Date unknown * Yaakov Shwekey, Jewish singer Deaths January–March * January 2 – Erroll Garner, American musician (b. 1921) * January 3 ** Carroll Quigley, American historian, polymath, and theorist of the evolution of civilizations (b. 1910) ** Hans Reinowski, German politician (b. 1900) * January 5 ** Artur Adson, Estonian poet, writer and theatre critic (b. 1889) ** Onslow Stevens, American actor (b. 1902) * January 6 – William Gropper, American artist (b. 1897) * January 12 – Henri-Georges Clouzot, French film director (b. 1907) * January 13 – Henri Langlois, French film historian (b. 1914) * January 14 ** Anthony Eden, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1897) ** Peter Finch, English-born actor (b. 1916) ** Anaïs Nin, French author (b. 1903) ]] * January 17 – Gary Gilmore, American murderer (executed) (b. 1940) * January 18 – Džemal Bijedić, Yugoslavian Prime Minister (b. 1917) * January 19 – Yvonne Printemps, French singer and actress (b. 1895) * January 21 – Sandro Penna, Italian poet (b. 1906) * January 23 – Toots Shor, New York restaurateur (b. 1903) * January 28 – Burt Mustin, American actor (b. 1884) * January 29 ** Buster Nupen, South African cricketer (b. 1902) ** Freddie Prinze, American actor and comedian (Chico and the Man) (b. 1954) * February 3 – Pauline Starke, American actress (b. 1901) * February 4 – Brett Halliday, American writer (b. 1904) * February 9 – Queen Alia, Queen of Jordan (b. 1948) * February 11 – Louis Beel, Prime Minister of the Netherlands (b. 1902) * February 16 – Rózsa Péter, Hungarian mathematician (b. 1905) * February 18 ** Andy Devine, American actor (b. 1905) ** Ralph Graves, American actor (b. 1900) * February 19 – Anthony Crosland, British author and politician (b. 1918) * February 20 – Ralph Hungerford, American naval officer, 33rd Governor of American Samoa (b. 1896) * February 21 – John Hubley, American animator (b. 1914) * February 25 – Patricia Haines, British actress (b. 1932) * February 27 – Allison Hayes, American actress (b. 1930) * February 28 – Eddie "Rochester" Anderson, African-American actor (The Jack Benny Show) (b. 1905) * March 3 – Percy Marmont, stage & screen actor (b. 1883) * March 4 – Andrés Caicedo, Colombian writer (b. 1951) * March 5 – Tom Pryce, British Formula race car driver (b. 1949) * March 8 – Henry Hull, American actor (b. 1890) * March 10 – E. Power Biggs, British-born American organist (b. 1906) * March 11 – Ulysses S. Grant IV, American geologist and paleontologist (b. 1893) * March 15 – Antonino Rocca, professional wrestler )b. 1921} * March 16 – Kamal Jumblatt, leader of the Lebanese Druze (b. 1917) * March 18 – Marien Ngouabi, President of The Republic of the Congo (assassinated) (b. 1938) * March 22 – A. K. Gopalan, Indian communist leader (b. 1904) * March 25 – Nunnally Johnson, American screenwriter and director (b. 1897) * March 26 – Madeleine Dring, British composer and actress (b. 1923) * March 27 – Diana Hyland, American actress (b. 1936) * March 29 – Charles Nicoletti, American gangster (b. 1916) * March 30 – Abdel Halim Hafez, Egyptian singer and actor (b. 1929) April–June * April 11 – Jacques Prévert, French poet and screenwriter (b. 1900) * April 12 – Philip K. Wrigley, American chewing gum manufacturer and Major League Baseball executive (b. 1894) * April 17 – William Conway, Northern Irish cardinal (b. 1913) * April 20 ** Wilmer Allison, American tennis champion (b. 1904) ** Bryan Foy, American film producer and director (b. 1896) * April 21 – Gummo Marx, American actor and comedian (b. 1892) * April 27 – Stanley Adams, American actor (b. 1915) * April 28 ** Ricardo Cortez, American actor (b. 1899) ** Sepp Herberger, German soccer coach (b. 1897) * May 4 – Richard Pike Bissell, author of short stories and novels (b. 1913) * May 5 ** Ludwig Erhard, Chancellor of Germany (b. 1897) ** Sam Lanin, American 1920s bandleader (b. 1891) * May 9 – James Jones, American writer (b. 1921) * May 10 – Joan Crawford, American actress (b. 1905) * May 15 – Herbert Wilcox, British film director and producer (b. 1892) * May 16 – Modibo Keita, former President of Mali (b. 1915) * May 31 – William Castle, American film director (b. 1914) * June 2 – Stephen Boyd, American film actor (Fantastic Voyage) (b. 1931) * June 3 ** Archibald Hill, English physiologist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1886) ** Roberto Rossellini, Italian film director (b. 1906) * June 14 – Alan Reed, American actor (b. 1907) * June 16 – Wernher von Braun, German-born American rocket scientist (b. 1912) * June 19 ** Geraldine Brooks, American actress (b. 1925) ** Lady Olave Baden-Powell, English Chief Girl Guide (b. 1889) ** Ali Shariati, Iranian sociologist (b. 1933) * June 22 – Jacqueline Audry, French film director (b. 1908) July–September * July 2 – Vladimir Nabokov, Russian-born writer (Lolita) (b. 1899) ]] * July 9 ** Loren Eiseley, American anthropologist and writer (The Immense Journey) (b. 1907) ** Alice Paul, American women's rights activist (b. 1885) * July 13 – Carl Gustav von Rosen, Swedish pilot (b. 1909) * July 15 – Konstantin Fedin, Russian writer (b. 1892) * July 19 – Karl Ristikivi, Estonian writer (b. 1912) * July 20 – Carter DeHaven, American actor (b. 1886) * July 23 – Arsenio Erico, Paraguayan footballer (b. 1915) * August 1 – Francis Gary Powers, American pilot, shot down in 1960 U-2 incident (b. 1929) * August 3 ** Alfred Lunt, American actor (b. 1892) ** Makarios III, Cypriot Archbishop and first President of Cyprus (b. 1913) * August 4 – Edgar Adrian, 1st Baron Adrian, English physiologist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1889) * August 9 – George Kenney, World War II United States Army Air Forces general (b. 1889) * August 11 – John Howard Lawson, American screenwriter, one of the Hollywood Ten (b. 1894) * August 14 ** Ron Haydock, American actor, writer, and musician (b. 1940) ** Alexander Luria, Soviet neuropsychologist (b. 1902) * August 16 – Elvis Presley, American singer and actor (b. 1935) ]] * August 17 – Delmer Daves, American screenwriter and director (b. 1904) * August 19 – Groucho Marx, American actor and comedian (b. 1890) ]] * August 22 – Sebastian Cabot, English actor (b. 1918) * August 29 – Jean Hagen, American actress (b. 1923) * August 31 – Rick Vallin, Russian-American actor (b. 1919) * September 1 – Ethel Waters, African-American singer (b. 1896) * September 4 – E.F. Schumacher, British economist (b. 1911) * September 6 – John Edensor Littlewood, British mathematician (b. 1885) * September 8 – Zero Mostel, American film and stage actor (A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum) (b. 1915) * September 12 ** Steve Biko, South African activist (b. 1946) ** Robert Lowell, American poet (b. 1917) * September 13 – Leopold Stokowski, English conductor (b. 1882) * September 16 ** Marc Bolan, English musician (b. 1947) ** Maria Callas, American-born soprano (b. 1923) October–December * October 3 – Tay Garnett, American film director (b. 1894) * October 8 ** Joe Greenstein, Polish-born American strongman (b. 1893) ** Giorgos Papasideris, Greek country singer, composer, & lyricist (b. 1902) * October 10 ** Helen Gibson, American actress (b. 1892) ** Angelo Muscat, Maltese actor (b. 1930) * October 12 – Dorothy Davenport, American actress (b. 1895) * October 13 – Jackie Condon, American actor (b. 1918) * October 14 – Bing Crosby, American singer and actor (b. 1903) ]] * October 17 – Michael Balcon, English film producer (b. 1896) * October 18 – Andreas Baader, West German member of Red Army Faction (b. 1943) * October 20 – Members of the American southern rock group Lynyrd Skynyrd (killed in a plane crash): ** Cassie Gaines (b. 1948) ** Steve Gaines (b. 1949) ** Ronnie Van Zant (b. 1948) * October 27 ** James M. Cain, American writer (b. 1892) ** Tony Hulman, American businessman and racetrack owner (b. 1901) * November 3 – Florence Vidor, American actress (b. 1895) * November 5 ** René Goscinny, French comic book writer (b. 1926) ** Guy Lombardo, Canadian-American bandleader (b. 1902) * November 8 – Bucky Harris, American baseball player (b. 1896) * November 9 – Gertrude Astor, American actress (b. 1887) * November 10 – Dennis Wheatley, English writer (b. 1897 * November 11 ** Greta Keller, Austrian-born singer and actress (b. 1903) ** Abraham Sarmiento, Jr., Filipino journalist & political activist (b. 1950) * November 14 ** A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Indian leader of the Hare Krishna movement (b. 1896) ** Ferdinand Heim, German general, branded the "Scapegoat of Stalingrad" (b. 1897) * November 15 – Princess Charlotte of Monaco (b. 1898) * November 18 – Victor Francen, Belgian actor (b. 1888) * November 21 – Richard Carlson, American actor (b. 1912) * November 25 – Tommy Prince, Canadian war hero (b. 1915) * November 30 – Terence Rattigan, English playwright (b. 1911) * December 5 – Roland Kirk, American jazz musician (b. 1936) * December 10 – Ethel Roosevelt Derby, Youngest daughter of Theodore Roosevelt (b. 1891) * December 12 – Clementine Churchill, Baroness Spencer-Churchill, Wife of Winston Churchill (b. 1885) ]] ]] * December 13 – Sir Charles Petrie, British historian (b. 1895) * December 15 – Wilfred Kitching, 7th (British) General of The Salvation Army (b. 1893) * December 18 – Cyril Ritchard, Australian actor and director (b. 1897) * December 19 ** Takeo Kurita, Japanese admiral (b. 1889) ** Jacques Tourneur, French director (b. 1904) * December 24 – Samael Aun Weor, Colombian writer (b. 1917) * December 25 – Sir Charles Chaplin, English-born comedian (b. 1889) * December 26 – Howard Hawks, American film director (b. 1896) * December 28 – Charlotte Greenwood, American actress (b. 1890) Nobel Prizes * Physics – Philip Warren Anderson, Sir Nevill Francis Mott, John Hasbrouck van Vleck * Chemistry – Ilya Prigogine * Physiology or Medicine – Roger Guillemin, Andrew Schally, Rosalyn Yalow * Literature – Vicente Aleixandre * Peace – Amnesty International * Economics – Bertil Ohlin, James Meade References Category:1977